Column: Obama Is The Snidest Of Them All, Rove Says
This story was written by John Gamboa, The Daily Aztec
Arrogant, rich elitist, country clubber and most of all, snide.
Who does that describe? Scooter Libby, President George W. Bush, both Clintons?
Well, according to Karl Rove, none of them. It describes Sen. Barack Obama.
This serves as an excellent expos of the bizarre world that Republican strategist Rove lives in. Last week in his column in The Wall Street Journal, Rove was quoted as saying Obama is the kind of person "even if you never met (him), you know this guy. He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone."
This would be excellent self-deprecating satire if he'd been referring to himself, or even more likely, one of his employers. It would even be funny, if it hadn't come from the mouth of a man who aides one of the most arrogant administrations in recent memory. Instead, it's just an attempt to undermine Obama's popular appeal, and a pathetically transparent one at that.
If Obama is any kind of arrogant, I'm guessing it's a different kind than what we've been subject to for the last eight years. Oh wait, no, he's much more dangerous and "out-of-touch" than a president who declared "mission accomplished" in Iraq some 2,000 days ago, aboard an aircraft carrier - the war that's still a black hole sucking up our tax dollars, in larger amounts than ever before.
The problem with Rove's comment is that it doesn't apply to Obama, beyond, possibly, the "beautiful date" and the "cigarette." However, there is nothing more absurd than for Rove to pull the "country club" card as a means to label him as elitist or arrogant.
But Rove's comments show the panic the famed Republican strategist is feeling because of the growing popularity of Obama, especially because polls place Obama at the lead in four battleground states.
Another part of the problem is Rove's decision to say that any arrogance displayed by a presidential nominee is negative. It's no secret that both Sen. John McCain and Obama must exert some confidence in their campaigns in order to win. However, Rove's pithy comparison is pitiful when describing a presidential hopeful who is too "timid" to accomplish the Bush administration's unspoken dream - attacking Iran for its still-unproven nuclear programs.
On the flip side, Rove's remark is also a pseudo-compliment. The blogosphere erupted over the misplaced irony of Rove's crazy comment. Just look to Hollywood. You'll see time and again the type of person Americans idolize, such as the suave, over-confident characters played by Clark Gable or "Bond - James Bond."
Regardless of whether you think Rove's comment was an accidental compliment or a crazy label, it's hard to avoid the kind of positive association seen in cinematic history since, well, forever.
While Rove's comment itself is exceptionally arrogant, by the end of the Bush presidency he won't be so confident. He'll be even more of a walking joke, and all his past statements will be all the more hilarious.
In the meantime, I'm off to a polo match with Obama. Don't wait up.